“Gender equality is a misunderstood concept in Pakistan”

Outline:
Gender equality is a misunderstood concept in Pakistan due to
various societal misconceptions and traditions as well as viewing gender as
a binary concept.
1. Introduction
2. What is gender quality?
3. History of gender quality in Pakistan
a. Traditional gender roles
b. Movements of gender quality
c. Transgender rights in Pakistan
4. Viewing gender as a binary concept
a. Traditional view of gender
b. Marginalization of Women and non-binary people
5. Role of Culture and Traditions in enforcing current concepts
a. Patriarchy
b. Gender equality threatening societal structure
c. Suppression of other genders in a male dominated setup
6. Political representation
a. Women representation in politics
b. Transgender and non-binary becoming part of the conversation
7. Roles of Religion, misinterpretations and religious extremism
a. Religion being used as a tool for suppression
b. Enforcing traditional gender roles by misinterpreting religious text
c. Religious extremism and gender rights
8. Economic setback and misconceptions
a. Lack of economic opportunities
b. Lack of investment in the futures of genders
c. Conservative
9. Strides for gender equality in Pakistan
a. Roles of NGOs and other parties
b. Initiatives by the government
c. Women and other non-binary individuals standing up for their right
10. Conclusion
 Gender equality is very much still misunderstood concept in Pakistan
reinforced by our traditions and societal norm entrenched in our society.
This has only widened the disparity between genders but also have led
to suppression and marginalization. Viewing gender as a binary concept
has also marginalized non-binary people. This shapes not only our
everyday relations but also in forming laws and policies. Interpretation of
religion and religious extremism has also hindered gender rights. Such
views and misconceptions have severely hindered the progress of the all
genders. It is as Malala Yousafzai said during speech in United Nations
“We cannot all succeed if half of us are held back”.
Gender equality means equal rights, equal opportunities of all kinds,
and equality in how one is treated not dependent upon one’s gender
whether it is binary or non-binary. This includes being able to make their
own decisions in all aspects of life whether personal or otherwise and
having same opportunities at life, education, career and other social
interactions. This also means not being discriminated against and
creating a society where everyone is equal. Then and only then can the
full socio-economic potential of a society be unlocked. Unfortunately for
Pakistan that has remain but a dream and this fall on the rigid structure
of the Pakistani society as it insists upon binary representation of gender
and traditional gender roles. Traditional understanding of gender
includes binary individuals, male or a female based of their sex.
However, challenging such notions in Pakistan involves going against
societal norms and embracing diversity. It is a diverse spectrum that
include many gender identities.
Pakistan is a country deeply rooted in its traditions and culture. Its
history is deeply rooted in patriarchy. Men are expected to be the
breadwinner while women are supposed to be house keeper. Though
Pakistan’s society has progressed a lot, such as electing first women
Head of State, it is still far from ideal. It is a cultural norm to assign these
roles to the genders and suppress their freedom in the name of
traditions. Additionally, transgender and non-binary people encounter
severe discrimination and marginalization and it’s the culture. More than
50% of all women in Pakistan are home bound and are not part of the
work force and the number is much higher for non-binary people. This
indicates that cultural norms are holding back Pakistan from achieving
equality. Pakistan also inherited many social issues such as child
marriage, right to education, etc.
Pakistan has a history of strives for gender equality. This history
include series of movements and other social activities. Aurat march
2019 was one of the biggest women led movements ever in Pakistan. Its
sheer scale, magnitude, diversity and inclusivity was tremendous.
Women and other non-binary individual adapted to it quick and they
belonging from different social classes joined it for the basic rights. All
protested against the patriarchy in a unique and innovative way in all
major cities. It was a huge shift from previous phases in the movements
such as women action forum from the 1980s, Sindhiani Tehreek, etc.

Pakistan views gender as a binary concept mainly due to its history

and other social factors and this significantly impacts our understanding
of gender equality. Traditionally, is seen in binary terms male and female
which completely neglect a significant portion of the population and their
rights. Pakistan is also one of the countries to recognize transgender
and a gender in ID Cards that is the 3rd gender. However, this is not to
speak for the social stigma and rigid expectations are assigned at birth.
Limited vision of the gender spectrum effects our decision make and
hinders inclusivity. Nearly 90% of transgender community physical
and/or sexual violence in their life time. “People are slaughtering
transgender persons like chickens - in fact in worse ways,” Aarzu, a
transgender rights’ activist, said during the protest at the Peshawar
Press Club. This all stems from fundamental misunderstanding of
gender in Pakistan.
In 2018, Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act was passed
which not only prohibited discrimination against transgender people in
schools, offices and public transport, but also allowed transgender
people to choose their gender on official documents. However, its
implementation leaves much to be desired. The execution of these laws
and policies belies the complete lack of interest of the state (Sara
Malkani, Dawn News). Recent census showed that there were around
68 million males and 58m female voters in the country but the population
of women is more than men and around 10m women did not have
representation (Dawn News). Furthermore, they marginalized in all
walks of life and patriarchy persists in Pakistan.
Our culture and traditions play significant role in shaping what we call
reality. As a deeply patriarchal society men are entrenched in all walks
of life and women are oppressed and controlled by them. They use
tradition and values to salience voices of desent.
Patriarchy is the central component of the culture of Pakistan men
are in position of power while women are relegated to certain things.
From politics to Waderah system to Jirgah system etc. all designed to
control women’s fate. Women are used to resolve fights and issues of
men. Patriarchy dominate everything and leds to the marginalization of
all other genders. This thinking contributes to inequality and is resistant
to any change. This thinking sees any efforts for equality as a direct
threat to way of life in Pakistan. They also see only men capable of
taking Pakistan to through stares of development. However, country
whose half a population is not even given a fair shot cannot succeed.
Social inclusion is imperative to achieve development goals.